For those of you who were keeping up with the Fretful Nights thread, here's an update.

After having a chat with DH, he took Willow to the vet on Monday. (I knew I married him for a reason!) So the information I have comes through him.

Willow was given a complete rectal exam. Her anal sacks were emptied, and fecal matter was tested. Apparently, she has a bacterial infection, though the dr wasnt sure if the infection was in the anal sacks or the digestive track. She's been given Flagryl to take twice a day, and she is due to return to the vet next week for a follow-up.

The good news is she is improving. Sunday night, before even going to the vet, she slept through the night for the first time in three nights. Monday night, she had a bowel movement that we actually could see. It was solid without blood, so she seems to be on the mend. It could have been the vet expressing her anal glands or it could simply be that the pumpkin etc. was getting through the system. At any rate, things are looking up!

The bad news is that today it is raining, so I'm having a heck of a time getting either of the girls to go out to do ANYTHING, let alone poo with constipation!! :roll:

matties mum

10th October 2006, 04:32 PM

So please that things are sorting out ---Aileen

Cathy Moon

10th October 2006, 05:08 PM

Glad to hear little Willow is on the mend! :flwr:

Was she scooting at all before this problem?

Moviedust

10th October 2006, 05:33 PM

Glad to hear little Willow is on the mend! :flwr:

Was she scooting at all before this problem?

Nope, I didnt see a single scoot.

I'm kinda suspicious, really. Willow went to the vet last Monday for a checkup to get her insurance started. During that visit, the vet checked her temperature (rectally, of course). Then on Thursday night, three days later, she suddenly develops this infection.

First of all, if it was her anal glands causing the complication, wouldnt the vet have noticed Monday that the glands were quite full?

Secondly, could the thermometer have infected Willow? I saw the vet coat the thermometer with lubricant, but it could have had germs on it.

I wasnt at the vets office for Willow's second appointment, but I'll certainly be there for the follow up exam. I'm going to ask a few questions. They counted the exam yesterday as a "follow up" (cheaper than main exam) appointment to the visit last Monday, though technically the visits are separate cases.

Do you think the vet should have seen something or even infected Willow by using a dirty thermometer? Or do I just have an over-active imagination???

Cathy Moon

10th October 2006, 05:41 PM

My vet doesn't check the anal glands on my three unless I ask them to or mention that they've been scooting, or if the dog is having a problem that could be related to anal glands and the vet wants to eliminate that as a factor.

Both India and Geordie have to have their anal glands expressed by the vet every so often. India gets very thick stuff that will not always come out on its own.

GusWilson

10th October 2006, 07:04 PM

My dog had a bacterial this summer, antibiotics got him feeling better. one thing i learned was that sometimes bright yellow poo means there is pus in it from an infection... I thought the yellow was bile b/c he had nothing in his stomach.

Karlin

11th October 2006, 12:14 AM

A bacterial infection could even have been there a while and could definitely be causing the night discomfort. They can get very bad cramping and gas for example. And they will get the runs constantly. I had a cat with this problem and Flagyl was her best friend. At the time I feared I could not keep her as she would (excuse the detail) drip feces around the house. She was a kitten, came from a bad background, and was very underweight and so forth, but the flagyl cleared it up and she has never had diarrhea since in 7 years of living with me! :) Such infections can hang on as low grade infections and improve then worsen, improve then worsen... so can be hard to diagnose initially or even notice... and a dog coming from a puppy farm situation would be eactly the type of candidate for this type of thing because they are stressed, and poorly fed and cared for. I bet she will be a whole lot happier now! I don't think it would have been the thermometer as vets keep them in disinfectant when not in use.

My vets wouldn't routinely check anal glands unless I ask.

Mary

11th October 2006, 12:17 AM

So glad Willow is on the mend!

Moviedust

11th October 2006, 12:21 AM

Willow never had diarrea; it was only constipation. If she had the runs, I wouldnt have been so worried! She had loose stools when she first came to us, which was most likely due to the stress of the transition. Since then, she's had healthy diet and uh... well, a healthy system. :)

I was concerned that she might have a blockage at first, but then she pooed (inside). (see Fretful Nights thread). Even so I thought it was related to something she ate (she's a chewer/swallower), so when I heard she had an infection I was a bit taken back. The situation seemed to develop very suddenly.

Remali

11th October 2006, 12:38 AM

I'm glad to hear that she is doing better! It's so scary when our animal kids aren't feeling well.

judy

11th October 2006, 05:39 AM

i'm so glad to hear she's feeling better and life is getting back to normal.

only one of my vets asked about anal glands, the one i consider to be the best of all I've seen, the one who asked the right questions and shows a lot of 'thinking on her feet" intelligence. she asked if zack had been scooting, i was surprised because i had brought him in for something that didn't have GI symptoms. I answered hesitantly that he had had some scooting, it was uncommon and i didn't think it necessarily needed treatment. She expressed the glands and told me there wasn't that much in there, i don't think he needed it done. And following the procedure, he started scooting a lot and i was told when i spoke to the vet that this was normal after anal gland expression.

As for whether an infection was spread by an unclean medical tool, you'll never be able to find that out. Theoretically it could've happened, but who knows?

That she was getting better even before the flagyl is interesting, diagnositically. How was it determined that it was a bacterial infection? Did they culture it and find out what kind of bacteria it was? What was the basis for saying it as a bacterial infection?

anyway, again, it's great that she is doing better. And it's great that youll be having insurance on her.
:flwr:

Maxxs_Mummy

11th October 2006, 11:08 AM

Cindy,

I am so glad that Willow is getting better :flwr:

I really would doubt that the infection was caused by the thermometer as Vets store them in a special sterilizing solution that kills just about - I think it would be more than their business would be worth to be lapse about something like that.

A bacterial infection can take some time to actually develop and I would have thought that it was more likely something that has been present in her since before she came home with you. Also, constipation can cause things to get worse as the toxins that are normally expelled upon defecation build up in the body. This is why, if we ever get constipated it makes us feel yukky and headachey :yuk:

Flagyl is excellent for killing bacterial infections and gets to work really quickly too. I hope the little one is soon all better & I'm sure that with all the TLC she gets from you and your family, her recovery will be even quicker still :flwr:

Moviedust

11th October 2006, 01:58 PM

How was it determined that it was a bacterial infection? Did they culture it and find out what kind of bacteria it was? What was the basis for saying it as a bacterial infection?

anyway, again, it's great that she is doing better. And it's great that youll be having insurance on her.
:flwr:

Hi, Judy. They did a fecal exam and tested it while my husband waited at the appointment. I wasnt there, so I dont know if they told him what type of bacteria. All he told me was that they said it was a bacterial infection, but they werent sure if was in the anal glands or the digestive tract.

She is doing must better; back to normal, really. So it is just one of those things!

Moviedust

11th October 2006, 02:01 PM

Cindy,

I really would doubt that the infection was caused by the thermometer as Vets store them in a special sterilizing solution that kills just about - I think it would be more than their business would be worth to be lapse about something like that.

Yes, I know the office should have sterile equipment. Still, I dont think this thermometer was stored in any solution. It is kept in a drawer in the exam room. I assume they clean it after each exam, but sometimes people make mistakes...

At any rate, no matter how she got sick, she's back to normal now. I worry so much when they are sick that I make myself sick! So I'm glad we are all back on schedule.